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Rose powers Bulls past Hawks for 3-2 series lead

May 11, 2011 - 5:45 AM Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Derrick Rose scored 11 of his 33 points in a lopsided fourth quarter, and Chicago Bulls tipped their playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks in their favor with a 95-83 victory in Game 5.

Rose doled out nine assists, had just two turnovers and got plenty of help from his supporting cast to put Chicago ahead, 3-2, in the series and on the brink of its first Eastern Conference finals appearance since 1998.

Luol Deng chipped in 23 points, Carlos Boozer had 11 points and 12 rebounds and Taj Gibson stepped up with all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter for the Bulls, who can close out the series in Atlanta on Thursday.

"We know going down there they're going to give us their all," Rose said. "If we come out and play defense first, we can make things tough on them."

Jeff Teague paced the Hawks with 21 points and seven helpers, but Atlanta shot just 31 percent from the field in getting outscored, 26-15, over the final 12 minutes.

"We felt confident going into the fourth," Horford said. "We weathered the storm, but they just made more plays than us. They were more aggressive going to the basket. That's something we need to do more of instead of settling for jump shots."

The Hawks used a late run to come away with a 100-88 series-tying win in Game 4 and made 52.7 percent of their shots over the first three quarters on Tuesday.

Their efficient shooting allowed them to recover from an early 15-point deficit, and they held the lead on two occasions in the third quarter.

Teague opened the fourth with a layup for a 70-69 edge, but the top-seeded Bulls turned it on from there, starting with a string of nine straight points.

Rose began and ended the run with driving buckets and helped Chicago stay in front the rest of the way.

Atlanta got as close as 85-79 on an Al Horford jumper with 4:54 remaining, and Gibson, who played the entire fourth quarter after playing only eight minutes in the first three, answered with a pair of hook shots around Rose's floater.

"I was just being patient, letting the game come to me," Gibson said. "I got great looks ... My hard work paid off."

Gibson added a jumper from just beyond the foul line for a 93-79 cushion, and the Bulls held on over the final 2:23 for the critical victory.

In 159 previous instances of a seven-game NBA playoff series being tied, 2-2, the winner of Game 5 has won 132 times (83 percent).

Deng scored Chicago's first seven points, and Rose added a three-pointer to open up a quick 10-2 lead a little over three minutes into the game.

Keith Bogans drained two three-pointers later in the opening frame during a 10-0 run to give the Bulls their biggest advantage, 32-17.

Atlanta made the final two field goals of the quarter and continued to whittle down the deficit in the second. Zaza Pachulia was particularly effective off the bench with nine points, and the Hawks were within 48-42 at halftime.

The Bulls were unable to put the Hawks away in the third, and Josh Smith, who ended with 16 points and seven rebounds, drained a deep jumper to give Atlanta its first lead of the game, 64-63, in the final two minutes of the quarter.

Game Notes

The Hawks shot just 1-for-12 from three-pointer range, with Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford going 1-for-9 from long distance...Johnson had 15 points, while Crawford was held to two in nearly 27 minutes of action...Horford finished with 12 points and 10 boards...Chicago's Joakim Noah, who was named to the NBA's All-Defensive Second Team on Monday, was held scoreless...Bogans tallied 11 points.